Star Voyager - Part 17
By Iejasu and Miklinar
Boards of inquiry had a common feel to them in any society. The rules of
evidence that apparently restrained Janeway were a far cry from the ones
Vader had had to tolerate. They even seemed to exceed the rules of the Old
Republic.
Vader had, in his time, officiated at a few boards, been asked to give evidence
at others, and -- only twice -- had been the object of inquiry. He despised them.
But this one... His eyes narrowed.
Different emotions warred in him. First, there had been the Security escort to
the hearing -- one of whom had been a Lieutenant Louise Fortunati. His heart had
leapt at the sight of her, but she showed no visible sign of acknowledging him --
was he imagining that here was the reality under Brigid Murphy? -- until they were
at the conference room, and then she had given his arm a squeeze. But they were
under observation, and he hadn't been able to improvise an answer before he was
directed to a chair.
The hearing progressed, with a recess for lunch and another break for dinner.
Eventually, they were finished giving evidence. Janeway was having the summaries
read again.
Seven's voice said, "...mistook the voice of Kenobi for commands from the collective,
on an emergency frequency that overrode..."
A pity, Vader mused, that they couldn't compel Kenobi's own testimony. But the old
Jedi had fled his Borg prison when the doctor had finally discovered the circuitry
that had trapped him there. And Vader had not detected him anywhere around since.
The doctor's voice, "...was acting to save Mister Paris from an attack, even at the
risk of his own recapture..."
And even Naomi was there. Her testimony on Seven's behavior corroborated the doctor's
and Paris's brief encounters with the seriously personality-changed Seven. The hour
was late, so it was a recording of her voice reading the summary, not the child
herself. But the high, light voice warmed Vader, helping him relax. The memory of
her bright mind and her intelligence made him smile a little. Tuvok noticed the
smile, and his eyebrow rose, almost imperceptibly.
Janeway touched a small disk on the table at her place, and the sharp sound of a
gavel echoed in the meeting room. "Is there any more testimony?" Silence. She looked
at Vader, giving him a small nod. "Very well. Anakin Skywalker."
Next to him, Paris murmured, "Stand up, Admiral."
Vader rose. "Yes, Captain?" His huge frame stood there, towering over the others.
Janeway just looked at him steadily while she thought, more silence than he wanted
to hear -- he thought she had already made up her mind! He shifted a little -- when
had he lost the skill of standing motionless, letting others become nervous? Possibly
when he had been healed to where he no longer needed the mask, no longer had it
available to hide his expressions behind. Or was it since his repaired nerves
regained control of his body, not his conscious mind?
The clothing added to his discomfort. The utilities he had worn helping Paris
maintain the _Delta Flyer_ were of a different cut, closer to a flight suit. This
more formal costume sat uneasily on his flesh. And he had only barely found a
selection in Stores of robes he might have been comfortable in, robes like those
the Jedi wore, before he had lost his replicator privileges.
Or would Jedi-style clothing be just as foreign to him? So many years... He was no
longer that young Jedi, nor was he in truth the Dark Lord who had been so sorely
wounded, tossed into a whirlpool of fate to land squarely in front of _Voyager_...
to arrive at a place where he could find healing. Healing of soul as well as of
body, although, in truth, his son had started _that_ change in him.
Vader looked straight into Janeway's eyes. Here was his fate.
"We have no jurisdiction," the captain said, "over the crimes you may have committed
in your home space, even if we had reliable testimony to their history. But there
are... infractions... you committed here."
At the word "infractions," Vader's nerves eased. The Starfleet people were not
inclined to joke in such matters -- grave matters were called by grave terms. "I had
my reasons." He lifted his chin proudly.
"Indeed. This is a ship with a chain of command. And, obviously, we can't trust you
to put my orders over your judgement on what has to be done. Did it never occur to
you to notify Security of your suspicions? If they had been tracking Seven, Mister
Paris might not have been sporting the strangle marks we found him with."
"I had no reason to think you would believe any such report from me, and Miss
Wildman had been warned by Kenobi not to tell anyone. I am pleased she finally found
the courage to tell Lieutenant Torres enough of the story so the lieutenant called
in a Security backup." Vader rubbed the back of his head. Seven had been more of a
handful than expected, and he still had the memory of having his head bounced around
the floor and biobeds as he tried to subdue Seven without damaging her.
Janeway studied the prisoner. Paris's suggestion looked better every moment. "Mister
Skywalker. It is the considered opinion of this court that you have no place here
on _Voyager._ At your age, learning to be a subordinate would be a great trial for
all of us, and, frankly, I don't think you would tolerate it. Therefore..."
Vader's face betrayed a small smile. Her assessment was all too true. The smile
faded. Was there a viable alternative?
She nodded to Paris, ever so slightly, who shot a quick grin at her in turn. "We've
several small ships that one world we recently visited gifted us with. We're going
to supply one, and turn you loose with it. We won't give you our complete library
files, but there are a number of files you'll find interesting -- those on
experiments on opening temporary wormholes. I have the feeling that your luck will
be better if you start your own experiments close to where you arrived on this end,
where you know there was once a gateway."
At "considered opinion," Vader stiffened, bracing himself for the verdict, and that
is what kept him from slumping in relief at the rest of Janeway's words. "Thank you,
Captain," he said quietly. The chance to get a ship, even getting home again, made
him feel a little giddy. His own command again, not a huge city of a Super Star
Destroyer, but at least something that would answer to his will alone. There was
only one question left. "When?"
"Soon. The longer you are on _Voyager_, the longer you will have to backtrack. But I
thought I'd give you a chance to say goodbye to Naomi and your other friends."
Vader nodded curtly. This was the first time he could actually someone call "friend" and mean it the way the word was meant.
************
The escort back to the cargo area was more courtesy than guard -- Vader was free to
move in the public areas of the ship again. But the company was welcome...
"Fortunati."
She nodded. The warmth was there, behind the carefully controlled exterior. Then a
grin broke through. "M'lord." She looked up at him. "You really _do_ have that title,
I see. That's why you took to it so well. And I thought you were just adapting to the
holodeck." One corner of her mouth lifted, quirking her smile. "Are your lands like
that? Like Fair Haven?"
He was not interested in explaining Imperial politics to her, especially since he had
no idea what would still be true when -- if? -- he returned. "My duties keep me
mostly aboard ship."
That was not the right thing to remind her of. She had been in the room when
Chakotay had repeated Kenobi's accusations. Her smile wavered. "And you'll be
leaving, to go back there."
"It's my duty to try. I have no place here on _Voyager_." He did not add that other
cultures in the Delta Quadrant would be even more alien to him.
The door slid open in front of Vader. Fortunati stood to one side and reprogrammed
the lock to allow egress. Vader stood, watching. Not that the lock had been any good
against him earlier, but...
"Can you come in for a while?" he asked, suddenly almost shy.
"I'm on duty for several hours yet, m'lord. And you have an early call, to ready
your new ship."
"Then..."
Fortunati stood on her toes and kissed him on the cheek. "They're waiting for me.
Sleep well."
By Iejasu and Miklinar
Boards of inquiry had a common feel to them in any society. The rules of
evidence that apparently restrained Janeway were a far cry from the ones
Vader had had to tolerate. They even seemed to exceed the rules of the Old
Republic.
Vader had, in his time, officiated at a few boards, been asked to give evidence
at others, and -- only twice -- had been the object of inquiry. He despised them.
But this one... His eyes narrowed.
Different emotions warred in him. First, there had been the Security escort to
the hearing -- one of whom had been a Lieutenant Louise Fortunati. His heart had
leapt at the sight of her, but she showed no visible sign of acknowledging him --
was he imagining that here was the reality under Brigid Murphy? -- until they were
at the conference room, and then she had given his arm a squeeze. But they were
under observation, and he hadn't been able to improvise an answer before he was
directed to a chair.
The hearing progressed, with a recess for lunch and another break for dinner.
Eventually, they were finished giving evidence. Janeway was having the summaries
read again.
Seven's voice said, "...mistook the voice of Kenobi for commands from the collective,
on an emergency frequency that overrode..."
A pity, Vader mused, that they couldn't compel Kenobi's own testimony. But the old
Jedi had fled his Borg prison when the doctor had finally discovered the circuitry
that had trapped him there. And Vader had not detected him anywhere around since.
The doctor's voice, "...was acting to save Mister Paris from an attack, even at the
risk of his own recapture..."
And even Naomi was there. Her testimony on Seven's behavior corroborated the doctor's
and Paris's brief encounters with the seriously personality-changed Seven. The hour
was late, so it was a recording of her voice reading the summary, not the child
herself. But the high, light voice warmed Vader, helping him relax. The memory of
her bright mind and her intelligence made him smile a little. Tuvok noticed the
smile, and his eyebrow rose, almost imperceptibly.
Janeway touched a small disk on the table at her place, and the sharp sound of a
gavel echoed in the meeting room. "Is there any more testimony?" Silence. She looked
at Vader, giving him a small nod. "Very well. Anakin Skywalker."
Next to him, Paris murmured, "Stand up, Admiral."
Vader rose. "Yes, Captain?" His huge frame stood there, towering over the others.
Janeway just looked at him steadily while she thought, more silence than he wanted
to hear -- he thought she had already made up her mind! He shifted a little -- when
had he lost the skill of standing motionless, letting others become nervous? Possibly
when he had been healed to where he no longer needed the mask, no longer had it
available to hide his expressions behind. Or was it since his repaired nerves
regained control of his body, not his conscious mind?
The clothing added to his discomfort. The utilities he had worn helping Paris
maintain the _Delta Flyer_ were of a different cut, closer to a flight suit. This
more formal costume sat uneasily on his flesh. And he had only barely found a
selection in Stores of robes he might have been comfortable in, robes like those
the Jedi wore, before he had lost his replicator privileges.
Or would Jedi-style clothing be just as foreign to him? So many years... He was no
longer that young Jedi, nor was he in truth the Dark Lord who had been so sorely
wounded, tossed into a whirlpool of fate to land squarely in front of _Voyager_...
to arrive at a place where he could find healing. Healing of soul as well as of
body, although, in truth, his son had started _that_ change in him.
Vader looked straight into Janeway's eyes. Here was his fate.
"We have no jurisdiction," the captain said, "over the crimes you may have committed
in your home space, even if we had reliable testimony to their history. But there
are... infractions... you committed here."
At the word "infractions," Vader's nerves eased. The Starfleet people were not
inclined to joke in such matters -- grave matters were called by grave terms. "I had
my reasons." He lifted his chin proudly.
"Indeed. This is a ship with a chain of command. And, obviously, we can't trust you
to put my orders over your judgement on what has to be done. Did it never occur to
you to notify Security of your suspicions? If they had been tracking Seven, Mister
Paris might not have been sporting the strangle marks we found him with."
"I had no reason to think you would believe any such report from me, and Miss
Wildman had been warned by Kenobi not to tell anyone. I am pleased she finally found
the courage to tell Lieutenant Torres enough of the story so the lieutenant called
in a Security backup." Vader rubbed the back of his head. Seven had been more of a
handful than expected, and he still had the memory of having his head bounced around
the floor and biobeds as he tried to subdue Seven without damaging her.
Janeway studied the prisoner. Paris's suggestion looked better every moment. "Mister
Skywalker. It is the considered opinion of this court that you have no place here
on _Voyager._ At your age, learning to be a subordinate would be a great trial for
all of us, and, frankly, I don't think you would tolerate it. Therefore..."
Vader's face betrayed a small smile. Her assessment was all too true. The smile
faded. Was there a viable alternative?
She nodded to Paris, ever so slightly, who shot a quick grin at her in turn. "We've
several small ships that one world we recently visited gifted us with. We're going
to supply one, and turn you loose with it. We won't give you our complete library
files, but there are a number of files you'll find interesting -- those on
experiments on opening temporary wormholes. I have the feeling that your luck will
be better if you start your own experiments close to where you arrived on this end,
where you know there was once a gateway."
At "considered opinion," Vader stiffened, bracing himself for the verdict, and that
is what kept him from slumping in relief at the rest of Janeway's words. "Thank you,
Captain," he said quietly. The chance to get a ship, even getting home again, made
him feel a little giddy. His own command again, not a huge city of a Super Star
Destroyer, but at least something that would answer to his will alone. There was
only one question left. "When?"
"Soon. The longer you are on _Voyager_, the longer you will have to backtrack. But I
thought I'd give you a chance to say goodbye to Naomi and your other friends."
Vader nodded curtly. This was the first time he could actually someone call "friend" and mean it the way the word was meant.
************
The escort back to the cargo area was more courtesy than guard -- Vader was free to
move in the public areas of the ship again. But the company was welcome...
"Fortunati."
She nodded. The warmth was there, behind the carefully controlled exterior. Then a
grin broke through. "M'lord." She looked up at him. "You really _do_ have that title,
I see. That's why you took to it so well. And I thought you were just adapting to the
holodeck." One corner of her mouth lifted, quirking her smile. "Are your lands like
that? Like Fair Haven?"
He was not interested in explaining Imperial politics to her, especially since he had
no idea what would still be true when -- if? -- he returned. "My duties keep me
mostly aboard ship."
That was not the right thing to remind her of. She had been in the room when
Chakotay had repeated Kenobi's accusations. Her smile wavered. "And you'll be
leaving, to go back there."
"It's my duty to try. I have no place here on _Voyager_." He did not add that other
cultures in the Delta Quadrant would be even more alien to him.
The door slid open in front of Vader. Fortunati stood to one side and reprogrammed
the lock to allow egress. Vader stood, watching. Not that the lock had been any good
against him earlier, but...
"Can you come in for a while?" he asked, suddenly almost shy.
"I'm on duty for several hours yet, m'lord. And you have an early call, to ready
your new ship."
"Then..."
Fortunati stood on her toes and kissed him on the cheek. "They're waiting for me.
Sleep well."